Plan Bridge
by QueenRiley
Summary: Set during Once a Ranger. Xander has a problem. Bridge knows how to solve it.


Xander thought for sure he was going to hate sharing a room. He'd been an only child with his own room his whole life and the only time he'd ever had company, they'd been sharing a bed. So he wasn't sure he was going to take well to sharing with a complete stranger. A strange stranger at that. Adam, being leader, got his own room. He should have known they wouldn't be allowed to share with the girls, though it's not as if he knew either Tori or Kira any better. So that left Bridge and one bedroom with two double beds.

"Guess it's just you and me, yeah mate?" he said, trying to break the tension. Bridge seemed completely oblivious. He was bouncing on his bed and taking in the room. It seemed pretty basic to Xander, just some plain walls and a few generic trinkets stuck on the one utilitarian dresser. Bridge was smiling though.

"It's such a nice room, isn't it?" he asked. Xander looked around again, wondering what he was missing.

"It feels like a hotel," he replied.

"I know." Bridge sighed happily. Xander shook his head and stood up to empty his bag. He'd just thrown a few spare clothes in a backpack. Hopefully it would be enough to get him through. He was happy to take up the job, to be a ranger again, but he hoped it wouldn't be for the long haul. He was already homesick. Sure, the new team was great. It was amazing to work with a legend like Adam Park, but it wasn't ihis/i team, ihis/i friends.

He could feel eyes on him. When he turned around, Bridge was sitting cross-legged on the bed with one hand up in the air. He'd taken off one of those leather gloves he always wore and he looked a little sad. Xander frowned.

"I miss my friends, too." Bridge said, slipping his glove back on. Xander was pretty sure he hadn't said anything and now he was just confused.

"How do you know I miss my friends?" he asked. Bridge wiggled the fingers of his now gloved hand.

"I read your aura. I can absorb psychic energy through my skin, particularly my hands. And I'm getting good at mind-reading if I focus. You're earthy hues, deep greens and some gold-yellows… more like amber. We'll get along. Plus, you've got some big spikes of light red. One with a yellow center and one with a pink center. Mmmm… like chocolate candies." Bridge was staring off into space now and Xander felt a warm glow spread across his stomach. Bridge was an oddball, no doubt about it, but he seemed completely comfortable with that fact and Xander found it kind of adorable.

"Well I suppose that's good then, yeah?" he asked. Bridge brought his attention back and smiled. Xander stretched out on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. "So what's the future like?" he asked.

"Sky told me not to say too much. He said he'd know if I said anything. But it's not too far in the future, only about twenty years. The technology is different, though. Really different. Being here is like… like visiting Bubbe and Zayde. It feels old, only not."

"You're a strange one." Xander smiled.

"Y'know, I get that a lot. I don't know why. I don't really see it." Xander laughed. If nothing else, at least his roommate was entertaining. They talked well into the night, taking the time to get to know each other. Xander was surprised, but he really did get along well with Bridge. Maybe, just maybe, he'd leave this whole thing with a new friend.

* * *

It had only been two days with the new team and already Bridge was going crazy. He liked Xander most of the time. He seemed like a nice guy and his aura was very down to earth. It grounded him when he felt like he might be slipping. And he was definitely an easier roommate than Sky had been. But Xander had a nasty tendency to excess energy after a fight. It rolled off him in waves and when confined in a small room, Bridge couldn't block it out. It just kept bouncing off the walls right back at him.

Xander was currently pacing. He was anxious and on edge. Bridge thought about going down to the gym or maybe finding the butler and getting some buttery toast, but even leaving now, the energy would still be clinging to the room when he got back. If he didn't help Xander deal with this problem, it wouldn't stop. And who knew how long they'd be stuck together.

"What do you normally do?" he asked. Xander stopped pacing and just stared. Apparently he hadn't been clear enough. Per usual. "You're teeming with energy. What do you normally do after a fight to get rid of it?"

"I… have some friends to help." Xander actually blushed.

"I could help." Bridge replied.

"No, you really can't." Xander laughed. He resumed pacing. Bridge closed his eyes and tried to focus on blocking it out, but he couldn't. Xander's emotions were too much to handle.

"You're all energy! I can't take it anymore. It's putting me on edge." Bridge yelled. He rarely raised his voice, but he was feeling out of control, like he was on a roller coaster, and he couldn't rein it in because Xander couldn't rein it in. Xander ran a hand through his hair.

"You can't help, mate. I mean, my friends, they know what I'm like and they said I shouldn't worry about it, but it would be weird with another ranger. I could make a phone call maybe," he said. He stopped pacing and stared out the window. Bridge could read it all. He was nervous, he was anxious, he was tense. He was vibrating with energy and he needed to let it out, release it, or it was going to drive them both insane. Risking a meltdown, Bridge took off his glove to get a better feel for just what Xander needed. He was surprised at what he found, but at least he knew how to fix the problem now.

He stood up and before Xander had even registered what was going on, Bridge had slammed him against the wall and kissed him. The contact brought memories and he was flooded with emotions entirely not his own. He saw flashes of a young man with flaming red hair. There was a girl, dark hair with streaks of green, and headphones. Ah, yellow and pink. The spikes in Xander's aura made sense now. They were his former teammates, two he had a special bond with.

He was still lost in the memories that didn't belong to him when Xander sent a wave of lust, nearly knocking him over. Xander was kissing him back, though, so at least they could take care of the little excess energy problem. Bridge tugged hard on Xander's shirt and pulled him off the wall. He struggled to compartmentalize his own emotions. Xander didn't know to hold back, wasn't trying to control his feelings, and if Bridge wasn't careful, the mixing of the two could overwhelm him, send him into a meltdown like he hadn't had in years. If he wasn't careful, Xander could cause him to shut down completely. This whole experiment could fail if he couldn't control himself.

Xander pushed them down. Bridge kicked off his shoes and let Xander's hands roam as they slowly inched up the bed. It was interesting, having somebody so out of control touching him. As Xander's fingers moved, he could feel the memory trails Xander left behind, things he wasn't even aware he was transmitting. It was sensual. He reveled in it. As Xander moved over him, he lost himself in the combined emotions.

* * *

An hour later, they lay silent on the bed. Xander's excess energy had been spent. He wasn't feeling any better though. Sure, it had been fun. Lots of fun. Bridge was… talented. But he felt wrong. He shouldn't have. He knew he shouldn't have. But he had anyway, let Bridge take the lead, let the energy and release he knew he needed take over, and he'd gone and done it. Vida and Chip were going to kill him. Oh sure, they'd told him to find a way to deal with it, that it was okay so long as he let them know what was going on. But he hadn't said anything before this and he wasn't sure either would approve of Bridge, of all people. He covered his face in his hands and groaned.

"You aren't feeling any better." Bridge said. Xander looked over. Bridge was quite a sight, his hair a mess and naked except for the leather gloves covering his hands. Xander suddenly felt very self conscious and scrambled to cover himself with the blanket. He barely knew Bridge and here they were, naked for all the world to see.

"My… friends. They're not going to be happy about this," he said. He was starting to freak out. What if he'd ruined it? What if they left him because he was thinking with his little head instead of his big fat stupid one?

"Why would they do that? I thought you said you guys talked about it before you left." Bridge asked, frowning.

"Well they said I could do something if it got to be too much, but it wasn't too much yet! And I didn't talk to them first. And you and I just…" Xander twirled his hand, unable to say it out loud. He was freaking out, getting more and more anxious.

"Sex. We had sex. You can say it. It's not that big a deal." Xander nearly fell off the bed. Not that big a deal? He'd just had sex with somebody who wasn't Chip or Vida. It was a very big deal. Bridge patted his shoulder with a gloved hand. "And the energy was too much for me to handle. I did it to help me more than you." Xander covered his face in his hands again. He felt the bed move next to him as Bridge got up. He could hear the rustling of the clothes, but couldn't bring himself to look.

"Did it help you?" he asked, still not looking. He heard Bridge let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Yes. It wasn't about love. It wasn't even about sex. It was a method. It was a release of tension, a relief. Talk to them. If you tell them about my powers, they'll get it. You had permission first. It makes you feel better and now I'm not going crazy. Or is it crazier? Hrm." Bridge left the room, muttering under his breath as he tried to puzzle out if he was already crazy or not quite crazy enough. It took Xander awhile to register the fact that Bridge hadn't even questioned him about having two partners.

* * *

Bridge sat on the back lawn, staring out at the expanse of the mansion and it's grounds. The sun was just rising, pale pink slowly following the darkness across the sky, chasing away the night. He wasn't normally such an early riser, but Adam had them on a morning training schedule and he liked to be up for awhile before he tried to work out. So he just sat and waited.

It was so quiet in the early morning stillness that he heard the crunch of the grass long before he could feel the presence of the other person. Xander sat down next to him, but he didn't say anything for awhile. Bridge could feel Xander's eyes on him, but he didn't look over. He just smiled, watching the sun wash out the last stars twinkling in the sky.

"So I called them." Xander said. Bridge finally looked over. Xander was still in his pajama pants and nothing else.

"Yeah?" he asked. Xander nodded.

"They laughed at me. Said it was okay, that's why they cleared it before I left. Vida's gonna smack me when I get back." Bridge chuckled. He didn't know anything about these other people except what he got in memory flashes from Xander. From what he saw, he was pretty sure she actually would hit him. They were quiet for another few minutes when Xander nudged him with this shoulder. He looked over.

"You got anybody you need to call?" he asked. Bridge's calm mood vanished. Z would understand why he did it, he knew. She had spent the past few years working with both him and his mother on ways to control her emotions, to touch him without overwhelming him. She knew his powers placed him in some delicate situations that required some creative solutions. She knew all this, sure, but he wanted to tell her himself anyway. He wanted to let her know that he'd actually made a friend, a real genuine friend. He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn't, and his heart suddenly ached for her.

"I do. But I can't," he whispered. He looked down at the thick leather gloves on his hands and felt a rush of pity. He wasn't actually sure if that was from himself or Xander and he didn't really want to know just then.

"Hey, if I can tell Chip and Vida, you can tell yours, right? I mean, it's like you said. It's a coping mechanism." He felt Xander's hand go to the back of his neck. Xander rubbed a little circle in the skin just below his hairline and above his shirt. He felt concern and pity, all tinged with the earthy greens of Xander's aura.

"No, I really can't, not until I get home. From the future, remember? She's not even been born yet." Xander unknowingly sent a rush of regret and compassion right through Bridge and it completely overwhelmed anything he had been feeling himself. It was so comforting he actually leant back into Xander's hand, surprising himself with the need for skin to skin contact. It was so rare he could have extended physical contact with another person other than Z or his mother. He closed his eyes and sighed, just letting Xander's emotions take over.

Xander leant in and kissed him. It was light and gentle, brief, but there was a lot of meaning behind it. He smiled into the kiss and reached up to grasp at Xander's long hair. He pulled him against him, deepening the kiss, relishing the feel of another man. Maybe he wasn't as alone and out of place here as he thought.

* * *

It had been a week. One week as a ranger again. But finally, the morphing grid was fixed, Thrax was destroyed, and he could go home. He'd called Chip and Vida right away before rushing off to pack. He'd missed them so much. He'd come into this not knowing anybody. Xander made friends with everybody, he hadn't been worried about getting along with the other rangers, but he was surprised at just how close he'd let himself get, to Bridge especially, over that week.

"I guess we can't really promise to keep in touch, can we?" he asked sadly, tossing the last of his shirts in his bag. He turned away from the dresser to look at Bridge. He was sitting cross legged on his bed, his fingers steepled in front of his face. He was back in his SPD uniform, his bag already packed and sitting on the floor beside him.

"No, we can't."

"What do you say to one last romp, for memory sake?" Xander asked, winking, hoping to lighten the mood. Bridge smiled, but shook his head, and Xander's heart fell.

"The Sentinel Knight is going to call me any minute to send me back to the future. The window he can do it in is brief. There isn't time." Sure enough, not a minute after he finished, Andrews the Butler knocked on their bedroom door, calling for Bridge. It was time to go. Xander was surprised at just how sad he was, how much he would miss him.

"Say hi to your girl for me, yeah? Tell her she's lucky. She's got one heck of a guy," he said, reaching out to shake Bridge's hand. Bridge stepped right past it and pulled Xander into a tight hug.

"Same for you. I wish I could meet them," he said, patting Xander on the back.

"Miss you," Xander whispered, sniffling through tears he hadn't realized were brimming. Somehow, through it all, Bridge had wormed his way into his heart, taking up residence there.

"I'll miss you too, Xander. It was good to know you." Bridge said, pulling back with a smile. Xander cleared his throat and composed himself while Bridge grabbed his bag and walked out the door, never looking back.

* * *

Bridge had been outside all morning, training the younger cadets in fighting techniques. He was hot and tired, though, and his last class, the youngest of the cadets, looked like they were wilting fast. He jumped at the chance to end class early when he felt Z's shining aura move in behind him. She kissed him on the cheek eliciting snickers and cries of disgust from some of the boys in his class. He shooed them off towards the showers before turning back to Z.

"There's an old guy who has been sitting in the bleachers for the past hour watching you," she whispered in his ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

"And how do you know he's watching me? Maybe he's a parent." He teased her. She snickered.

"I've been watching you for the past hour. Our eyes meet looking at you." He laughed outright and turned to look in the direction she pointed. He saw a middle aged man, in his early forties probably, with straight, dark hair. It was starting to grey at his temples giving him a distinguished look, but the charming tilt of his head told a different, more playful story. His eyes were dark with deep laugh lines around the corners, but they danced in delight. The man sat with an air of confidence, arms splayed and comfortable, despite the hot metal. He smiled. There was no question as to who was sitting up there watching him.

"Do you know him, Bridge?" Z asked. He couldn't take his eyes off the older man.

"Come meet an old friend, Z," he said, taking her hand and leading her towards the bleachers. The older man smiled wide and trotted down to meet them at the bottom steps.

"You haven't changed a bit, Bridge," he said, his voice teasing with a soft accent.

"It's good to see you, Xander," Bridge said, stepping forward to wrap him in a hug.

"Been a long time, mate," he said, letting go.

"It's only been three months for me." Bridge chuckled, taking in all the changes in Xander.

"Twenty years from my point of view. I followed your career, y'know. Everything you said back then finally made sense." Z laughed heartily and Bridge looked at her, wounded. She squeezed his hand in apology, but he still saw her wink at Xander. He smiled back at her. "Anyway, I was in Newtech City on business and I knew it had been long enough, that you'd already gone back. I had to come see you, see how you're doing. I know I'm not the same, been so long for me, but I thought… well maybe we could catch up."

"Come have lunch with us, Xander," Z offered. Xander looked to Bridge and it surprised him to realize Xander was waiting for his confirmation. There was no question. He reached out his free hand and Xander took it with a sigh of relief. It was good to be together again.


End file.
